This movie goes on the same shelf as "The Road" -- except now we have a vampire apocalypse -- and like that film, it is dark, the wrong people sometimes die, and it is depressing in that you have just as much to fear from the humans that remain in this desolate landscape as you do the ghouls.

The desolate landscape in this case is the Philadelphia area, where this was filmed, and it will be fun for locals to spot a few familiar locales -- such as a specific stretch of 422.  I know there are at least a few regulars on the board from around these parts.

The vampires here are not the sophisticated sort from True Blood or Twilight, but mindless, thirsty killing machines.  The make-up and gore are pretty good, and we get plenty of looks at the "vamps", as they are called, and lots of nifty kills.

The cast is mostly unknown, but quite competent.  It was fun to see Kelly McGillis back on the screen, and she lives around here somewhere, which is probably why she signed on.  The main bad-ass, known only as "Mister" might take a while to grow on you, but he does.

It was only after the film was over that it occurred to me they really give no explanation for the vampire apocalypse.  We are simply thrust into this world and asked to accept it at face value -- and in a way I think that almost works better than a bunch of scientific mumbo-jumbo trying to explain what happened.

And anyway, the film is really more about the journey these characters take, and who they meet -- some good, and some bad, like a weird religious cult that sees the vampires as an act of a vengeful God.

This sure does not look like a low-budget effort, and I am mystified why it did not get a larger release.  A really well-shot film with lots of talent on display, from acting to story to FX.  If it sounds like something you would like, I seriously doubt you will be disappointed.

You can get it through Netflix now (not instant, though), and it is well-deserving of a spot in your queue.

It's been on my que for awhile now, Bert.y got them quickly anyways, but not lately.  I'm kind of pissed about it, as I've also been waiting for The Ward, Priest, Troll Hunter, and Ironclad.

Hope to see it soon!

Your distribution center must be kind of lame.  I have already had "Troll-hunter" and "The Ward", too, but I did not write a review for either.  "Troll-hunter" was a little too "cartoony" for my tastes, and for lack of a better word.  "The Ward" was OK, but I did not like the girls -- like, 6 of them and I didn't like a single one -- which was a problem for me.

I do find that putting something at the top of your queue even though it has not been released yet seems to help.  I think their program might give preference to those that have had something at the #1 spot for the longest time, though I have no real evidence of that.

As for Stake Land, thinking back on it this morning I like it even better.  Good stuff, IMO.  Another similar film is "30 Days of Night", as far as the relentless viciousness of the vamps -- though they were smarter in that film.  The vamps in this film do not speak, or even seem to think much (minor spoiler -- with one notable exception).

Quoted from bert As for Stake Land, thinking back on it this morning I like it even better.

I've watched it twice now, picked up more nuance the second go around.

The writer/director's debut film is also worth a look.
"Mulberry St." is a rat virus outbreak in a low rent NYC apartment building.
Claustrophobic with that salty NYC vibe and believable characters.
It's got flaws, but plenty of character beats and flavor too.

I'm looking forward to this guy's next film, for sure!

E.D.

I couldn't get through Mulberry St.  I tried, but finally gave up.

I got through Mulberry St. but that was due to OCD -- I have to finish every film I watch. It tested my patience to the extreme, though. Nigh on unwatchable in spots. Awful.

Which made Stakeland a huge, welcome surprise because I thought it was really good. Enjoyable genre fare that manged to keep it's serious tone, despite some karate kid-esque training montages.  

Finally saw this last night.  Not bad, by any means, but not great or memorable, either.

I did not like the extensive V.O. at all.  I also didn't like all the cliches on hand, which were many.  I felt like I've seen this movie countless times before, and I think we all actually have.

This was filmed on a $4 Million budget, and for the most part, it looks quite good for that.

I was just looking for a fresh take and some different ideas, which were not present.

Not bad though.